The present invention relates to a vehicle air-conditioning module to be mounted in a vehicle instrument panel.
In general, the vehicle air-conditioning system to be mounted in a motorcar or the like is substantially centrally arranged in the interior of the instrument panel and fixed to the vehicle body directly or through a fixing bracket or the like.
An air-conditioner sub-wire harness arranged on and fixed to the surface of the vehicle air-conditioning system is electrically connected to electrical parts such as a mode-selecting servomotor, air-mixing servomotor, air-conditioning control unit, blower unit and the like. The air-conditioner sub-wire harness includes a connector for electrically connecting with a vehicle wire harness. Such a connector will be connected to a connector on the vehicle wire harness when the air conditioner is or has been mounted on the vehicle.
If the vehicle air-conditioning system is mounted directly in the interior of the instrument panel, the connector in the air-conditioner sub-wire harness is connected to a connector in an instrument panel wire harness.
The instrument panel wire harness comprises a trunk portion arranged across the instrument panel and offset portions branched from the trunk portion and including connectors on the tip portions thereof. The trunk portion is fixedly mounted on the backside of the instrument panel body or on a cross car beam, air-conditioning duct or the like which is mounted in the instrument panel. The offset portions are connected with an air conditioner mounted in the interior of the instrument panel, an electrical components control unit and an electrical connection box or various other electrical components such as a center cluster panel mounted on the mounting surface of the instrument panel, a meter panel or the like.
When the instrument panel wire harness is to be mounted on the instrument panel, the trunk portion thereof is arranged and fixedly mounted in the interior of the instrument panel. Thereafter, the connectors on the tip ends of the offset portion are fitted into the corresponding electrical connectors in electrical components which have previously been mounted in the interior of the instrument panel. At this time, the offset portions may fixedly be mounted, at the middle thereof, on the instrument panel if the offset portions are not sufficiently held since the lengths thereof are too long. The connectors to be connected with the center cluster panel and instrument panel before they are mounted on the mounting surface of the instrument panel are left near the mount openings formed in the instrument panel body, without fixation.
On the other hand, the center cluster panel centrally disposed on the mounting surface of the instrument panel may include various electrical components such as a group of air-conditioner control switches, an audio device, a group of audio device control switches and others. The backside thereof may include connectors for the instrument panel wire harness. The center cluster panel is fixedly mounted around the mount openings which have centrally been formed in the mounting surface of the instrument panel.
FIG. 13 illustrates the prior art method of mounting an electrical component on the mounting surface of an instrument panel.
Referring to FIG. 13A, the mounting surface 43a of the instrument panel 43 includes a mount opening 43b substantially centrally formed therein. A connector 45 in an instrument panel wire harness 44 is left near the mount opening 43b without fixation.
Referring to FIG. 13B, the connector 45 of the instrument panel wire harness 44 is drawn out from the mounting surface 43a of the instrument panel 43 through the mount opening 43b and then fitted into a connector 47 on an electrical component 46, for example, of the center cluster panel or the like.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 13C, the electrical component 46 is fixedly mounted the mounting surface 43a around the mount opening 43b. 
It is required that the offset portions of the instrument panel wire harness 44 including the connector 45 to be connected with the connector 47 of the electrical component 46 is drawn out from the mounting surface 43a of the instrument panel 43 through the mount opening 43b for connecting with the connector 47 of the electrical component 46. Therefore, the instrument panel wire harness 44 must have an extra length.
However, the operation for mounting the electrical component 46 of the center cluster panel or the other on the mounting surface 43a of the instrument panel 43 is manually carried out as described. Thus, an operator must use one hand to draw out the connector 45 of the instrument panel wire harness 44 from the mounting surface 43a of the instrument panel 43 through the mount opening 43b while using the other hand to support the electrical component 46. Under such a situation, the operator must cause the connectors 45 and 47 to fit with each other. This is extremely cumbersome and difficult.
Since each of the offset portions in the instrument panel wire harness 44 must have an extra length, the manufacturing cost is also increased. For the same cause, the offset portions of the instrument panel wire harness may be brought into contact with any other part in the instrument panel 43 when the electrical component 46 has been mounted. This may produce any defect such as production of an abnormal sound, damage of the wire harness, short-circuiting due to wire damage and so on. To avoid such a defect, various sound shut-off and wire protection parts may be mounted in the instrument panel 43. However, this will greatly increase the manufacturing cost.
FIGS. 14A and B are block diagrams illustrating different structures around the vehicle air-conditioning system according to the prior art while FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a dash panel including a vehicle air-conditioning system according to the prior art. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the vehicle air-conditioning system 50 is substantially centrally arranged in the interior of an instrument panel 51 and fixedly mounted on the vehicle body directly or through a fixing bracket or the like.
An air-conditioner sub-wire harness 52 arranged on and fixed to the surface of the vehicle air-conditioning system 50 is electrically connected, through a connector 52a, to electrical parts 53 such as a mode-selecting servomotor, air-mixing servomotor, air-conditioning control unit, blower unit and the like. The connector 52a of the air-conditioner sub-wire harness 52 is electrically connected with a vehicle wire harness.
An electrical connection box 54 is disposed in the instrument panel 51 either on the driver or passenger side or both on the driver and passenger sides and fixedly mounted on the vehicle body directly or through fixation bracket (or brackets) or the like. The electrical connection box 54 includes a connector electrically connected with the vehicle wire harness.
The electrical connection box 54 also includes various electronic parts such as circuit protection parts, electrical components controllers and so on. In many cases, these electronic parts are connected with internal circuits in the electrical connection box 54 and further electrically connected with any external wire harness outside of the electrical connection box through connectors and with various electrical components mounted in the vehicle.
A dash panel wire harness 58 is disposed and fixedly mounted on the inner wall of a dash panel 57 which partitions between a passenger room 55 and an engine room 56. The dash panel wire harness 58 includes connectors 58a for electrical connection with the air-conditioner sub-wire harness 52 and electrical connection box 54. When the vehicle air-conditioning system 50 and electrical connection box 54 are or have been fixedly mounted on the vehicle body, the connectors 58a of the dash panel wire harness 58 are connected with the corresponding connectors in the air-conditioner sub-wire harness 52 and electrical connection box 54 such that the dash panel wire harness 58 will electrically be connected with the electrical component 53 of the vehicle air-conditioning system 50 and the electrical connection box 54, respectively (see FIG. 14A).
Where the vehicle air-conditioning system 50 and electrical connection box 54 are fixedly mounted on the body of the instrument panel 51, an instrument panel wire harness 59 is disposed and fixedly mounted in the instrument panel 51. The instrument panel wire harness 59 includes connectors 59a for electrical connection with the air-conditioner sub-wire harness 52 and electrical connection box 54. When the vehicle air-conditioning system 50 and electrical connection box 54 are or have been fixedly mounted on the main body of the instrument panel 51, the connectors 59a of the instrument panel wire harness 59 are electrically connected with the connectors 52a of the air-conditioner sub-wire harness 52 and the electrical connectors of the electrical connection box 54, respectively. Thus, the instrument panel wire harness 59 will electrically be connected with the electrical component 53 of the vehicle air-conditioning system 50 and the electrical connection box 54, respectively (see FIG. 14B).
In the prior art of FIG. 14A, the connectors 59a of the instrument panel wire harness 59 are connected with the connector 58a of the dash panel wire harness 58.
On the other hand, an engine room wire harness 60 is disposed and fixedly mounted in the engine room 56 of the vehicle. The engine room wire harness 60 is electrically connected with a battery 61, electrical connection box 62 and electrical components 63 to supply the electrical connection box 62 and electrical components 63 with an electric power from the battery 61.
The engine room wire harness 60 includes connectors 60a for electrical connection with the electrical connection box 54, dash panel wire harness 58 and instrument panel wire harness 59, all of which are located within the passenger room. The engine room wire harness 60 extends through a dash panel grommet (not shown) on the dash panel 57, a portion of which is disposed and fixedly mounted in the passenger room 55 for electrical connection with the electrical connection box 54, dash panel wire harness 58 and instrument panel wire harness 59 all of which are located within the room 55 (see FIGS. 14A and B).
When the battery 61, electrical connection box 62 and electrical components 63 in the engine room 56 are electrically connected with the electrical connection box 54 and electrical components 53 of the vehicle air-conditioning system 50 in the passenger room 55 through the engine room wire harness 60, dash panel wire harness 58 and instrument panel wire harness 59 as described, the electric power can similarly be supplied to the electrical connection box 54 and the electrical components 53 of the vehicle air-conditioning system 50.
However, the aforementioned prior art has the following problems:
(1) Since the vehicle air-conditioning system, electrical connection box, dash panel wire harness or instrument panel wire harness is assembled through fitting at the respective connectors when it is or has been fixedly mounted on the vehicle during assembling of the vehicle or during sub-assembling of the instrument panel, a huge number of assembling steps are required. Particularly, the wire harnesses make the mounting on the vehicle and the assembling through the dash panel very troublesome with a great number of assembling steps, since they are flexible and difficult to maintain their forms.
(2) Since various electrical parts in the electrical connection boxes such as the circuit protection parts, electrical components controls and so on may be subjected to malfunction due to heat, they require heat radiating parts such as heat pipes, heat sinks or the like. This makes the system complicated with increase of the manufacturing cost.
The first present invention provides an vehicle air-conditioning module adapted to be located in the interior of an instrument panel having a mounting surface on which an electrical component (or electrical components) is or are to be mounted, said module comprising at least one electrical component connector connected directly with the corresponding connector in each of said electrical components through a mount opening formed in the mounting surface of said instrument panel, said electrical component connector being located on the surface of said module opposed to said mounting surface.
The second present invention provides a vehicle air-conditioning module having an air-conditioner body located on the inner wall of a dash panel partitioning between a passenger room and an engine room, and an electrical connection box mounted on said air-conditioner body, said module comprising a first connector mounted in a through-aperture formed in said dash panel and electrically connected with an engine room wire harness disposed within said engine room, and a second connector mounted on the side of said electrical connection box opposed to said engine room and electrically connected with the corresponding one of electrical components in said electrical connection box while being fitted to said first connector.
The third present invention provides a vehicle air-conditioning module having an air-conditioner body located on the inner wall of a dash panel partitioning between a passenger room and an engine room, and an electrical connection box mounted on said air-conditioner body, said module comprising a first connector electrically connected with an engine room wire harness disposed in said engine room, and a second connector mounted in a through-aperture formed in said dash panel for electrically connecting with the corresponding one of electronic parts in said electrical connection box while fitting to said first connector.